Razer files for Hong Kong IPO

Ever-diversifying once-and-former peripherals specialist Razer has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) into Hong Kong's stock market with a view to raising a rumoured £463 million in external funding.

While best known for its snake-themed gaming peripherals, Razer has been on something of a diversification push in the last few years: From gaming laptops and the acquisition of a smartphone maker to triple-screen concept designs, video capture devices and even a music production portal, Razer has been working hard to branch into new markets. Doing so, however, requires cash, and the company has a plan to get its hands on fresh millions: an initial public offering (IPO).

Following private investment which has valued the company at around £1.54 billion, Razer has filed for an IPO (PDF warning) with the Stock Echange of Hong Kong, which if accepted will take the company public for the first time in its history. According to an unnamed source speaking to TechCrunch regarding the filing, Razer is looking to raise more than £463 million from the IPO. If successful, the cash injection would go quite some way to repairing the £15.42 million loss the company filed last year while also funding its research and development and diversification efforts.

While a successful listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange would mark Razer's shift from a private to a public company, this isn't the first IPO the company has attempted. Last year, the company attempted to launch an IPO in the US but pulled out - a misstep which it fingered as being a major cause of the loss it filed for its last financial year. Although Razer has put considerable effort into its 345-page IPO filing, the company has not yet made a public announcement regarding the IPO nor formal plans for how it will use the cash received if the listing proves successful.